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Colby Jack becoming a staple of Astros’ post-season diet

In the second game of the series, Rasmus waited until he had a 1-ball, 2-strike count before launching his third solo homer of the young playoffs, giving the Astros a 4-1 lead at the time, although the Royals battled back to take game two, 5-4, and evening up the series.

In that game, Rasums broke a major league record when he punched a double in the top of the first inning, making him the first player to have an extra-base hit in his first six post-season games.

The Astros, who have pretty much lived or died by the long ball during the regular season, have continued to wail away in the playoffs. The team has recorded five homers so far in their first three games, but have struck out 32 times during that same span. The Astros led the American League in strikeouts with 1,392 in 2015, trailing only the Chicago Cubs for the major league lead.

But they also hit 230 homers in the regular season to finish only two behind major league-leading Toronto in that category. Almost half of the Astros’ runs this season have come via the long ball.

Houston starts ace Dallas Kuechel in game three, which is to be played in Houston, where Kuechel was 15-0 during the season. Given his track record at Minute Maid Park, one serving of Colby Jack may be all that is needed.